Lets Enjoy the Culture Fest
by The Great Rhapsode
Summary: What if during the culture fest, Jirou left with Deku for his little errand? What if they both met Gentle? What if Jirou knew what today meant for Eri? Well, lets see how Deku and Jirou handle this culture fest together.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Back with more Dekujirou. Now I was a little upset with how in the school festival arc, Jirou actually get a big cool fight. So I decided to tweak it a bit. And made it Dekujirou because... I can. So yeah this'll be a Deku and Jirou culture festival fic, enjoy.**

Deku walked down the main entrance to the school campus alone. Dressed in a pair of simple running shorts and short-sleeved shirt, with a green zip-up hoodie. For while it wasn't quite the crisp autumn season yet, the early mornings had grown colder in the absence of the sun. On his hands, he was wearing the new addition to his costume, gloves that when combined with his quirk would assist in manipulating air pressure with his strength limit. It was dropped off for him in the middle of the night with some notes on how to use it from his friend in the development department, Hatsume.

The Green haired boy took in his surroundings, this entire entryway, as well as much of the campus, had been completely taking up by a variety of stands and stalls for the annual culture festival. It was five in the morning, and the green haired boy gave a groggy yawn. " _Alright, gotta help Jirou with checking the music equipment."_ Deku said internally, repeating the instructions his fellow classmate had given him. The Class 1-A attraction for the special day was to be a musical performance, with Kyouka Jirou leading them with her musical expertise.

The night beforehand, Jirou had asked for a fellow student to help her with sound checking the equipment early in the morning before the culture festival started. The prospect of waking up early wasn't welcomed by many, but to their elation, Deku volunteered. Many rejoices were heard as his fellow classmates could enjoy a few more hours of blissful sleep. " _She told me to be up early… Hope this is early enough."_

Deku finally arrived at the auditorium where they'd be performing, but to his surprise, no Jirou waiting for him. A few moments had passed, and Deku expected to see his purple haired classmate show up any second now. The young hero-in-training itched the back of his head, realizing that this might've been too early, even for Jirou. Deciding out of idle curiosity, Deku tested the door and to to his surprise, it was unlocked.

Walking through the unlit corridor, the young man took in the sites of all the stage props that the 1-B students had left over night. These would likely be switching their class's props out with after the performance. Rounding the corner onto the main stage, Deku was shocked at the sight before him.

Audibly snoring on the center of the stage was another human being. Judging from the higher pitched volume of the snores Deku assumed it was girl, and upon closer inspection, Deku saw that it was who he had been waiting for, Jirou. The Hearing Heroine was sound asleep, currently using a black leather jacket as a makeshift blanket that didn't do too well covering her distressed leggings or short purple hair. Her usual pair of black boots were currently off, laying next to her, and poking out from under her jacket's collar was her signature earphone jacks.

Deku crouched down and gently shook his classmate awake. Resulting in a less than ideal reaction.

"I'M AWAKE, I'M AWAKE!" The earphone girl cried as she jolted up, nearly knocking Deku over and causing her jacket to fall to her lap. Jirou instinctively looked side-to-side, finding her volunteer slightly startled by her outburst.

With an audible sigh, Jirou collected herself, returning to usual lax composure. "Uhh… Midoriya…" She started, but as evident by her the faint dusting of pink present on her cheeks, the earphone girl was quite embarrassed with how she acted. "Thanks for making it."

"No problem, Jirou. But way were you sleeping in the auditorium?" Responded Deku. His question only made Jirou more embarrassed, as she shifted her eyes away from her classmate to the empty seats. The faint pink on her cheeks deepened to a darker red.

Jirou's eyes shifted back to Deku, neither of them had gotten up from their place on the floor. She then began to start fidgeting, taking her right earphone jack and wrapping it around her index finger. "I was here all last night." She admitted. "This whole performance has me so… jittery. I couldn't sleep at all last night, so I decided to get a headstart on tuning the instruments."

Watching the girl's colored cheeks began to fade, Deku felt himself empathizing with the purple haired heroine. Anxiousness had been a key feature of his life growing up. Not having a quirk for so long in a world of superpowered people didn't do wonders for his self-esteem, especially when he had associates like Bakugou. While he wasn't knowledgeable in music or worries of a musician had, Deku felt like he had to find some words of encouragement.

The green haired boy's concern was written plainly on his face, as Jirou ceased playing with her jack and held her hand out, waving it defensively, with her now free mimicking her movement.

"Hey, I'm fine, really!" She stammered. "I should be apologizing to you, Midoriya. I mean, I told you to come and help me, but I already did everything myself. Sorry…"

Deku's concerned face suddenly turned to one of surprise, as it was now his turn to have pink form on his freckled cheeks. Jirou's response had suddenly reminded him that there was a little more to his volunteering than just letting is friends catch a few more minutes of rest. No, he initially volunteered after Mina, the leader of the dance portion of their live performance, had told him that he had to be cut from the dance troupe. For while his footwork was graceful in combat, it wasn't as so on the dancefloor.

It was truly embarrassing for the green haired boy that out of his classes contribution to the culture festival, an event meant to show the people of the city a fun time, he couldn't help. His face suddenly began to grow dour, eyes that were only a minute ago widening were suddenly narrowing, more empty. A sudden thought that he hadn't considered at first crossed his mind, not participating in the performance meant he'd be breaking his promise to Eri.

Eri was a little girl that Deku and his upperclassmen, Mirio, had recently rescued from the clutches of the villainous Yakuza, Overhaul. Overhaul had intended to use the white haired girl's quirk as the key to bring back organized crime and affirm him a the new overlord of Japan. Deku managed to save Eri, though he'd be lying if he didn't admit that Eri also saved him in a way, and now he and Mirio agreed to use the culture fest as a way to make her smile.

While Mirio filled the young child's head with thoughts of candy apples, Deku had opted to be more direct. Deku told Eri that he and his class would be doing a fun show and that he'd be in it. But now that wasn't going to happen. Mina made it clear that she didn't want to cut him, but given the recent pressure put on them by their fellow student body, she felt it best that Deku be cut as to not lower the performance as a whole.

"It's… Fine, Jirou…" Deku managed to mutter.

Jirou could see the change in his disposition. While she may have been busy with coming up with music and training the band portion of the performance, she was aware of Deku's recent removal from the dance portion. The earphone girl wasn't oblivious to the idea that Deku might've been feeling left out by this decision, she had even considered asking if he'd like to help out backstage with Todoroki. Unfortunately, most of the Class 1-A students who weren't on either the dance floor or in the band were left up to providing the stage effects. And no one could really come up with a way to incorporate super strength into the show, especially not with the deadline fast approaching.

"Well, I guess since you got up so early for no reason, maybe I'll buy you something' to eat?" Suggested Jirou, trying to lift the green haired boy's spirit a little. The earphone girl then forced a smile on as she tried her best to seem jovial, "Come on, I'm buying. Pretty sure you could've guessed I haven't had anything at all yet!"

A small smile began to form across the young man's face at his companion's attempt to make him felt better. His once empty eyes were suddenly reignited with their usual 'Midoriya charm.' His mind was now out of the gutter and he reaffirmed that what he was doing this for was Eri, and a long as she smiles that'll be enough for him. Jirou's suggestion had allowed a new thought to form in his brain, a thought that would definitely make Eri smile, even if he couldn't be in the dance portion. Deku picked himself up, returning to a normal standing posture, "Thanks for the offer, Jirou! But I actually just thought of something-"

The green haired boy was interrupted by the sound of the auditorium door being pushed open. Entering through it was an all too familiar pink skin and haired alien girl, Mina, and a tall young woman with her dark hair in a ponytail, Momo.

"Jirou! Midoriya! So sorry to leave you two with this grunt work, but we want you know how grateful we are for helping us out with this necessary chore." Gushed Momo, feeling bad at the thought of two of her classmate doing a menial task that while annoying, was a crucial to make sure nothing was out of order for their Class' big attraction.

"Yeah, we owe you guys big!" Piped up Mina. "In fact, Yaomomo made something special for you two today, show 'em!"

Momo had on a small purse that she soon unzipped and pulled out a thermos. Unscrewing the lid, Momo allowed the sweet, aromatic scent travel through the air. As the smell hit Deku's nose, Deku could already fell the richness of the the thermos' contents spread through his body. Momo then used her quirk to make two small cups, then poured a beautiful black liquid from the thermos. Both Jirou and Deku realized it was that Golden Tips Imperial tea that she had served them yesterday.

"Enjoy." Momo said cutely as she handed her cups to her classmates. Deku suddenly began to start blushing again as he took his tea from Momo.

"Yaoyorozu, you should really just be giving this Jirou. She was here all night making sure the equipment was good and it was perfectly tuned." Deku said, feeling guilty for accepting seconds of such a mouth-watering beverage.

Momo's face suddenly became distressed, as she turned her focus to Jirou, who had began to start standing as she enjoyed her cup of tea. Momo's usual over enthusiasm made her get close to her earphone friend and make sure she was alright. Jirou managed to explain to Momo that she was okay, but as that happened, Deku finished his cup of tea, said a few words to Mina and exited the auditorium.

After calming Momo down, Jirou noticed a small absence. "Where did Midoriya go?" The purple haired girl question as she scanned the auditorium to find that there was Deku present.

"Oh he left for a convenience store, saying that if he wasn't going to be needed here that he'd go run a 'special errand'" explained Mina.

' _Wasn't going to be needed...'_ Jirou could feel herself frown at the use of wording Deku had used to excuse himself. Jirou looked back between her two close friends and began to feel a pit forming in her stomach. She had felt bad for Deku; feeling partially to blame for his situation given she couldn't find anything for him to contribute to their attraction in anyway. But she was also letting her nerves start to get to her too, the five hours before the start of the performance was starting to feel like an eternity. "Hey. I haven't eaten yet. If Midoriya is going out to a store, I'll go with him." Jirou said, returning to her previous stammering tone. "Momo, your in-charge of the band till I get back. Just make 'em do a quick rehearsal. Don't go all out yet."

Momo nodded in agreement, but her eyes were plagued with worry as she watched her friend and head of their band pick up her jacket, slip on her boots, and bolt out the auditorium. As Momo knelt down to pick up the teacup Jirou left behind, she could hear Mina snickering.

"Do find something funny?" Momo said raising a brow in confusion.

"You think she's got a crush on him.~" Mina said with a sly tone lining her voice. Her response definitely got to her ponytailed classmate, who suddenly became as red as a tomato at the suggestion.

Outside the auditorium, Deku walked by a few early birds who had only now started showing up to prep their stands. This was only a brief taste of what was to come, as the whole campus would be filled with tons of bustling citizens. The green haired aspiring hero stopped as he heard his last name called from behind, accompanied with rapid, heavy footsteps.

"Hey… You're still here…" Wheezed Jirou, as she slowly realized that sprinting wasn't the best idea. She had then began to bend forward slightly, propping herself up with her hands on her knees. This caused the green haired boy to lower himself forward slightly to make sure that she was okay.

"Jirou? Is there something you need?" Deku question, truly puzzled why the band leader would want to chase after him.

"Yeah…" the earphone girl said in a soft tone of voice. She lifted her head up just so she could look into Deku's eyes once more. With small gulp, Jirou returned to her usual tone, "I told you haven't eaten breakfast yet. Can't jam on an empty stomach."

For a moment, Deku seemed almost taken aback by how mundane Jirou's reason was, but he quickly reeled himself back in. Shaking off any notions that might make him think there was alternative reason for the purple haired girl to chase after him.

"Plus, Aoyama needs some kinda rope for his effect." Jirou added as she returned to normal form.

A small smirk appeared on the green haired boy's face as he tried to picture what his flashy classmate could want a rope for. The two then headed off, walking together as the exited the grounds of the campus.

"Soooo… Are you still buying if we're getting food?" Jested Deku.

"Oh so now, you're taking me up on my offer!" replied Jirou as a small tooth grin appeared across her lips.

The two UA students then enjoyed themselves a bit of banter on their way to the closest convenience store.

Elsewhere…

"Okay, Gentle. I have the laptop all prepped for today's big mission!" A young girl with red haired replied as she secured a black laptop in her backpack.

"Excellent work, La Brava!" Praised an older, flamboyantly dressed man. He was identified as Gentle, and he was decked out in a long tail coat, with an ostentatious collar. "But before we crash the little UA culture festival, we need some tea, do you know what I'm thinking?"

The young girl, known as La Brava, suddenly got a skeptical look in her eye at Gentle's little quiz. "Umm… No?"

"Golden Tips Imperial!" Proclaimed Gentle as he pointed his finger into the air to accentuate his answer.

 **A/N: That's all for now, if you enjoyed this fic, drop a favorite or follow. Also all feedback is welcome so please leave a review if you can. I will greatly appreciate it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N I'm back! Yeah, I actually managed to update this thing, who would've thought? Anyway sorry for the wait, I tried to get this out during DekuJirou week (or Izykyou, I've seen different spellings) but that clearly didn't pan out. But we're here now, so enjoy.**

Not too far from U.A. Highschool, about a brisk walk or so, there was a large urban area, common in metropolitan Japan. Multiple establishments and office buildings made up the majority of the surroundings, with nicely upkept sidewalks dividing these establishments from the often traffic ridden streets. Though, these sidewalks did lead to their own form of traffic, in the form of bustling commuters. Before the implementation of dormitories, this walkway was commonly used by many students of varying classes to get to their educational facility.

It was still early however, with the only ones truly traversing these roads were those working in the 24-hour service professions. It made Deku and Jirou's little excursion rather intimate, as the U.A. pair weren't bothered by the hustle and bustle of the common droves of people. Perhaps the morning wasn't all too bad as the green haired boy's classmates had made it out to be, if it allowed for him and the earphone girl to be able to walk and maintain a dialogue without the fear of bumping into some poor soul, or potential eavesdropping. Though there wasn't much to fear as they both avoiding anything personal, deciding to stick to topics involving studying or school. The two heroes in training had decided on a single-stop shop at the multi-mega chain, "JSTORE," for the answer to all their hunger and 'Aoyama rope trick' related needs.

"Thank you, please come again." Replied the store clerk, who bowed slightly as the purple and green haired youths exited the convenience store with their purchases. The pair had decided on a simple carrying plan, with both of them naturally in charge of caring for their respective meals, while Deku had an extra bag containing rope, small wooden sticks, an apple, sugar, and caramel.

Jirou reached into her bag and pulled out her breakfest, a simple everything bagel with cream cheese, but while doing so, allowed her eyes to shift towards her green haired companion. She had spent so much of this trip avoiding discussing anything personal she was starting to understand why she wasn't as close to Deku as Todoroki or the class rep, Iida. She tried to formulate in her mind a simple ice-breaker, as she scanned up and down Deku's form. Jirou had noticed that the green haired boy had on unusual gloves than ones commonly associated with usual autumn attire. It seemed like the easiest opening gto get into speaking about the more intimate details of their lives.

"Are those part of your hero costume?" Inquired Jirou as she brought her bagel up to her mouth. A faint blush beginning to form, as she had tried to avoid asking about their hero work. Especially after the fact that Deku, Kirishima, Uraraka, and Tsuyu all seemed to not be too open about their recent internships. She didn't think it was something uncommon to ask about, she frequently conversed with Momo about their job experiences and tips on how to better themselves out in the field. However, Deku in particular had been rather closed off since the raid on the Yakuza compound. While he was a quiet one, he seemed to start lacking his usual enthusiasm and exaggerated looks that the class, as well leaving the campus before anyone else had a chance to ask where he was running off to. While the other raid participants hadn't talked much about their experience, they still didn't seem to have any shift in the way they conducted themselves with the rest of Class 1-A.

Deku, however, not missing a beat or change in demeanor, replied, "Oh these? Yeah, Hatsumi made them to help me learn how to better control air pressure with my quirk…" Deku paused as he brought his free hand behind his head and gave it a small scratch. "...And not break my fingers, hehe…" Deku ended his little explanation with some awkwardly placed dark humor.

Jirou munched on her begal in silence. " _Well that's good."_ Jirou thought in a tone of reassurance. She did worry about Deku at times, who wouldn't? Your classmate kept breaking all the bones in his body, yet refused to even back-out of this course that physically taxed him. Jirou, like many, usually only watched from the sidelines when this happened. She had never felt an inkling to go assist Midoriya after his self-inflicted damage, but she always did take comfort in knowing he was surrounded by those who did, like All Might. But now things were becoming different for the purple haired girl.

She started to feel satisfied in hearing that her classmate was now more secure, when she'd usually respond in apathy. Jirou had never tried to intrude on her classmates' business, but being this close to someone she wasn't all too familiar with was putting her a position of inquiry. Not to mention that the media had a field day with all the reports of the very same raid this freckle-faced boy was apart of resulted in the death of the pro hero, Nighteye. The punk rocker wanted to know more. She wanted to make sure everything going on in Deku's life was going okay.

And yet, Jirou still found herself struggling for words.

...Well, so did her green haired companion.

Deku did care for all of his classmates equally, and while he wasn't of the mind that they all needed to be so close they'd be holding hands and singing around an open fire every night, he knew he'd have to work with many of them in the professional hero setting. Having a mutually positive relationship with all of his fellow classmates seemed beneficial for having both an easier time performing future joint hero tasks, and maintaining a happy school life. The only thing the freckle-faced boy knew he needed to keep from all of class 1-A was the nature of One for All, and that was going smoothly, albeit having to explain his detrimental drawbacks of One for All on his body were usually what put him on the hot-seat. However, Deku himself was not oblivious to his sudden detachment from Class 1-A.

Sure he danced with the class and had fun getting ready for the festival, but he was always leaving early, and not saying more than a few brief sentences in class. Deku had thought that this may be some form of trauma from the experience, but the young hero knew that he hadn't thought he'd seen enough to truly be scared by Overhaul like Eri or Mirio had. Overhaul's powers were grotesque, his methods appalled every fiber of Deku's being, and watching his senior lose all that he had made out of his quirk made Deku's faith in the future of young heroes quiver. But that didn't seem to be the case for his recent _unhinging_ from his classmates. No, what was causing Deku's disconnect was the little, single-horned girl herself.

Deku had spent most of his life watching heroes save the innocent and making the day safer for all, but Eri's case was something he had never imagined he'd be running into. Beating down the villain wasn't enough in this case. Taking the bystanders to a higher ground away from thee disaster wasn't enough. Eri was still haunted by Overhaul. No matter how far he was taken from her, or how many punches she watched Deku give him, she couldn't wriggle out of Yakuza's mental grasp.

' _If only we had saved her sooner…'_ Was all that Deku could think as he and Mirio would visit Eri over the last week. Deku was always cutting his time with others short just so he could check on her, see if Eri had progressed even the slightest amount. He was supposed to be her hero, and unlike Kouta, Deku was capable of checking on her progress. Watching the horned girl, in the hospital, getting a descent patch-up on her old wounds, and actually being tended to humanely, yet still, she couldn't smile. The boy who aspired to be the next Symbol of Peace, couldn't make a little girl smile. The frustration was beginning to give rise to even greater resolve.

The green haired boy eyed his bag of assorted products which could make one delicious candied apple, if Satou's claims were to be believed. Mirio had been so kind as to fill the horned-girl's head with descriptions of it before the culture fest, while Deku had opted to tell her about their big musical performance. A performance he was no longer going to be in… ' _Damnit…'_

Deku had started to shake his head vigorously for a quick moment, " _No, I will do this!"_ Deku mentally encouraged himself, with conviction ringing through his head. " _I may not be able to dance for her, but that doesn't mean I can't give Eri something to smile about!"_ While his goals were once again made apparent to him, the green haired boy had suddenly realized his little, head shaking might've been noticed by his purple haired hero hopeful.

Deku's eyes immediately darted towards Jirou, who had begun to check the time on her phone, likely pulling it out after he had told her about the origin of his new gloves. Her jacks were beginning to move freely, tapping themselves together under Jirou's chin as she looked somberly at her phone. This unenthusiastic gaze was quite telling for Deku who had now decided to take a few tentative steps towards _re-hinging_ himself with his class.

"Soooo... Are you excited for the performance?" Asked Deku, even though the miserable look in her eyes was already a strong indicator to the contrary.

Jirou's once empty eyes widen as turned slightly to face Deku, breaking her visual lock with her phone screen. "Of course I'm excited! I mean… I wrote the whole thing, it's gotta rock." Jirou responded unconvincingly, her fant blush still apparent on her face.

Deku was capable of reading this reaction easily, but yet there was some part of him, likely a combination of natural heroism and naivete , wanted him to press on. "You… Sure?" Questioned Deku, as he made sure to pause enough to not make this sound deliberate. However, this strategic syntax wasn't enough to keep the earphone girl's brow from furring.

"Yes, I'm very sure. Sheesh!" Responded Jirou in a now evidently frustrated tone. Usually the purple haired girl would try and zone-out before something stressful, often time plugging into her phone and allowing her music to soothe her nerves. Unfortunately, she'd be enveloped in music in a matter of hours, so that seemed like a hopeless escape. These painful hours still felt so far away, and this trip wasn't making it dwindle any quicker. Jirou quickly racked her brain, trying to jump away from the topic. Her frustrations weren't making it easy, so she chose to go with something obvious, "Why did you even need to buy that other stuff, Midoriya?" Jirou said, her tone trying to sound like her cool, familiar one, but coming off as more bitter.

Deku realized the strategy instantly, however, he didn't blame Jirou for it. The One for All user had really felt like he may have stepped over the line, and his questioning only agitated the earphone girl more than he could've intended.

Stealing a glance to his bag, the green haired boy was caught in moment of contemplation. " _Maybe I really am farther gone from the class than I thought?"_ Pondered Deku. He was so wrapped up with these Eri matters, he started to see the may have truly alienated himself, in his efforts to perform his hero duty. This could be his moment though. He could easily comeback if he could just confess why he was so caught up. "Alright, Jirou… I needed to get these ingredients to make a candied apple for a very special girl."

Jirou's cheeks, once only faintly red, now entered a fully blushing state as she heard his response. " _Special girl? He has girlfriend? Uraraka or Mina would've been all over telling the others about that…"_ Jirou though as she had quickly jumped to conclusions. Her eyes shifted back towards Deku, who was now smirking faintly. Clearly the earphone girl's face was brighter than she could've imagined and Deku was quite amused by it.

"It's not anything like a girlfriend, s-she's not much older than Kouta actually. H-her name is Eri." Deku stammered as he knew the way he phrased his explanation made it out to sound like something it wasn't. "Y-you see that Yakuza, Overhaul had a daughter-W-w-well it wasn't his biological daughter, but he was looking after her. B-b-but actually he was using her for these same bullets that took away Mirio's quirk..."

The purple haired girl cocked her head to the side a bit, Deku's explanation was turning into a total word salad. It wouldn't be too long till he progressed to full on muttering. And while Jirou may have started to take a turn towards frustrated with his response, she still had that newfound perspective of interest with the green haired boy. "Midoriya." Jirou firmly stated, "Tell me what you have to tell me, please."

Deku quickly inhaled, as he took Jirou's efforts to get him on the right track to mind. "What happened was… We rescued this girl from Overhaul, but she's still traumatized by what he did to her. Me and Mirio, haven't truly saved her. Not yet." As Deku spoke of the meaning behind this little venture for him, he felt his once previous smirk fade and the corners of his lips grow heavy.

"Oh god…" Muttered Jirou, as her face paled out to its usual shade. Digesting what Deku had said made the earphone girl truly uncomfortable. She even reached up to fiddle with her jack to avoid any jitters she might've been showing towards the gravity of the situation. "What's her name?" Was all Jirou could muster as she was trying to mentally piece more sentences together.

"Eri." Deku said, pausing slightly, as he knew there was things he was leaving out of his little explanation. "See, I was… Planning on trying to make her smile by inviting her to the big musical that our class was going to put on, but Mina cut me at the last minute, and I didn't want to disappoint her, so I thought there was something else I could do." Deku lifted up his bag to accent his point, "She was practically drooling over the description of candied apples." Deku tried to assure his now visibly shaken companion with a smile at the end of his sentence, concealing his disappointment about reminding himself of being cut.

The green haired boy's smile wasn't helping, as Jirou remained shell-shocked. "' _Make her smile...?'_ " Recounted Jirou. " _I'm standing here getting a little bit of stage fright while Midoriya… Midoryia…"_ Jirou tugged at her jack, her grip around it tightening with a sense of of self-loathing.

Deku approached Jirou, gently placing a hand her shoulder as she was busy staring down at the ground. "Hey, Jirou…" Deku said softly. The freckle-faced hero was taken aback by the earphone hero's response to his physical contact.

Jirou reached up with her free hand, and rested it over the Deku's hand that was on her shoulder. She stood in silence for a moment, maintain this position as she struggled to form any coherent thoughts. "I'm… Sorry, Midoriya." Jirou managed to croak out.

Letting go of her jack, Jirou managed to look Deku in the eyes. Her dark pools opposite his bright green ones. "I didn't mean to snap at you, I've just been selfish. I let my own struggles blind me to thinking about how I've been acting." Jirou said, trying to justify her earlier agitation. "...It's just that I had forsaken one dream, just so I could pursue another."

"Forsaken?" Echoed Deku as purple haired girl managed to regain composure, yet her colored cheeks had reappeared. "What do you mean?"

"I grew up, loving the sensation of reach people. I found out I could do that through both music and heroism." Explained Jirou as her voice started to gain a little joyful tone as she recounted her background to the green haired boy. It didn't last long though, for when Jirou continued, her tone returned to one of distress, "But when it came time to pick a career plan, I knew I couldn't do both. So I choose to be a hero over a musician. I know it sounds strange, but there's a part of me that always wished I could still do both, and this stupid culture festival might've been my last shot to prove it."

Deku, wasn't quite prepared to absorb what Jirou had just told him, truly it was his turn to look into his companions psyche. True, he hadn't known too much about the earphone girl beforehand, but now truths were being laid bare for him. Why she had held onto all those instruments, yet also why she seemed to constantly shy away from indulging in any form of pride in her musical talent. Deku tightened his grip Jirou's shoulder, "Hey…" Deku began with a reassuring tone, his lips pulling back so he could once again bust out his 'heroic smile.' "No struggle is invalid, Jirou. Having to pick between two dreams? I couldn't imagine how hard it has to be for you. But, I've heard your music, you made something to catchy and touching. Your music is so good, it gives me nothing but hope for when Eri sees it."

Deku's words pulled at Jirou's heart strings. Her gaze shifted downward, away from Deku. "Thank you…" She managed to say in a hushed voice as she broke away from the green haired boy's grasp. The warmth on her shoulder still lingering as she she breathed in and out gently, fully returning back to her normal demeanor. Deku could feel a wave of relief as he saw his purple haired companion regain her usual composure.

A flash of inspiration soon sparked in Jirou's mind, though her eyes made no indication of it. "Hey… Midoriya. I think I have an idea that you could-"

"WHAT'S THIS MADNESS!" A loud voice hollered, interrupting Jirou.

The two U.A. Students quickly turned to face the direction where the disturbance had came from. Standing outside a nearby coffee house was two heavily dressed individuals. One was taller, while the other was rather small, and both had gone to great lengths to bundle up, and conceal their identities. However, it was evident that regardless of dress, the duo still was capable of drawing attention.

The taller figure fell forward slightly, allowing his head to bang the glass window of the coffee house, and let it rest there in disappointment. His smaller companion quickly chimed up, "Gentle, please! We have to get to U.A. soon!"

"Ahh, but the sweet, golden taste… I will go without it this day…" The now identified Gentle said. However, a familiar scent danced across his nostrils. Faint, but potent enough. The man soon made a quick dash up to Deku and Jirou, who were truly baffled by Gentle's… Outburst. "Hello, youngins!" He greeted as he approached them.

Jirou almost unconsciously took a step back as the layered man made his way up to them. "Do I smell the glorious scent of golden tips imperial?!"

Jirou completely kept her eyes closed at this weirdos questioning. Her jacks starting to rub her temples for her. Deku quickly noticed her annoyance with the stranger, and decided to try his best to relieve the situation. "Yeah, we have a real special friend who gave it to us this morning."

Deku's response was at first simple, but he soon recognized this figure's voice and features that were visible. There was no mistaking it, this man was the internet villain, Gentle Criminal.

 **A/N: Annnnnd that's it for this chapter. So I'll try and get the next one out sooner, but till then. If you enjoyed this, please leave a favorite, follow, or review. I will greatly appreciate it.**


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